When David Wagner studies film of the Monroe Area High School football team, one thing jumps out immediately: speed.

The Purple Hurricanes, who ran past county rival Loganville 50-7 last week, are loaded with team speed, Wagner said.

“They are as fast overall as a team I have seen in a while,” Wagner said Monday. “They have five backs, including the quarterback, who can just fly. It is pure speed. They also have the linemen in front of them who can block. They are as good of a Monroe Area team I have seen since I’ve been coaching in Georgia. They are very talented at all the positions.”

While Loganville committed several turnovers last Friday, the Purple Hurricanes simply overwhelmed the Red Devils in all phases.

In addition to team speed, Wagner said Monroe Area finds the endzone — a lot —and said it will be a challenge for his team this week as the Bulldoggs are coming off a 21-10 setback to Jackson County.

“We will have to control the clock,” Wagner said. “I lost count in watching the film how many times Monroe Area had runs of 40 or 50 yards or more. We have to try to keep them from having the football. When they do have it, we have to contain them when they try to get around the edge.”

WBHS will be without standout lineman Austin Stewart, who suffered a fractured leg late in the game against Jackson County.

“He is a huge loss to our offensive and defensive lines,” Wagner said. “We are waiting to hear if he will be out six weeks or maybe longer. We’ll try to regroup and see who we can use to fill the spot. It’s tough to replace Austin though.”

Despite the loss last Friday, Wagner saw some positives from his team as the Bulldoggs ushered in 2012.

WBHS took the first possession of the second half and began to take control. The Bulldoggs only allowed Jackson County five offensive plays in the third quarter.

“I felt like we began to have them on the ropes,” Wagner said. “We made one critical mistake and it proved to be the turning point. That turnover really swung it back to them.”

Knowing the Panthers would likely keep throwing the football for the entire game, Wagner and the WBHS coaches wanted to keep it away from Jackson County as much as possible.

“We were able to do that, especially in the third quarter,” Wagner said. “Unfortunately, at the end of the night we turned it over five times.”

The game marked the first look for WBHS players at coordinator Stanley Allen’s defense.

“I think the defense played really hard,” Allen said. “Being the first game, there were a few mistakes, but all in all, I think the defense played pretty well.”

Like Wagner, Allen knows Monroe Area will present a unique challenge.

“They are big, strong and really fast,” Allen said. “They base their offense out of the spread and run a lot of option. We are working really hard to make sure we know our responsibilities for this game. Option football is all about responsibility. I have worked with some of those guys in the past and know they are really good football coaches so I expect to see a very well coached and disciplined team in the Purple Hurricanes. It should be an exciting game. Both teams will look really similar on defense.”

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